Your thoughts? This is quite unusual in modern writing. Also see Can People With Tattoos Go To Heaven? The English language is full of its subtle nuances, just like any other language is. So unless you're following a specific style guide, you may choose to capitalize certain terms as a mark of reverence (like we discuss in relation to pronouns in the post), especially if it helps to distinguish a religious usage from a non-religious one. I let go of anxiety and fear and open myself to receive God's Peace, Happiness and Security. There's room for flexibility here at least, as long as you use a consistent style of capitalization for similar usages of the word. In religious texts, the word god is usually written with the first letter "G" capitalized. Chancel, Narthex, Sanctuary, Nave, etcnot when used in vague and general architectural terms, but in referring to specific holy places within the church community as a matter of respect for their liturgical significance? Good suggestion! Looking online, both capitalized and non-capitalized versions are used, so its really down to your own, or a style guides, preference. And they are functioning as proper nouns (i.e., naming unique things), so there's an argument for capitalizing them on that count. Should you capitalize the word Order when referring to a religious organization like, "The Order encourages prayer.". However, when the terms are used as common nouns (not as names), theyre not capitalized. In general, a word is considered a nickname if it refers to one specific person. Do you blog about God or how the Scriptures impact your life? One thing you must learn is when words are to be capitalized. Capitalizing 'he' in reference to Jesus but also to Muhammad? Robust, real-time communication assistance, Write, rewrite, get ideas, and quickly reply with GrammarlyGO, Features to polish, grammar, tone, clarity, team consistency, and more, Writing assistance on 500,000+ apps and sites across your devices, For desktop apps and websites like Word and Gmail, For sites like Google Docs, Gmail, and LinkedIn, Check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes, Format citations in APA, MLA, and Chicago, When terms denoting family relationships are used as, (not as names), theyre not capitalized. 1. Religious references, please capitalize God, Jesus, Lord, Father, Holy Spirit, Savior, Heaven, Hell, Bible and the Word (as in the Word of God) and all pronouns referring to God including Him and His. He was a pastor for 10 years. Case closed. Please tell me is this is the proper way to write this sentence: Follower of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We'd be happy to help with the proofreading either way! In the OT the NIV uses both "Name" and "name" often when God is speaking or referenced. Otherwise, though, you can pick the approach you think works best. If soon you were going to emigrate, that is the way you would feel. One of these nuances has to do with when you capitalize the word "father.". "Priest" is a common noun, so it does not need to be capitalized. Hi, Joanna. However, it's not necessary according to most style guides (e.g., AP style suggests using lowercase, and Chicago style says only to capitalize these terms in religious publications). Can I go to the mall once I finish my homework, Mom? This is because when we use the word to refer to one supreme being, the word becomes a proper noun. Heavenly Father is the Supreme Creator. As long as you stick with one or the other usage consistently throughout your piece of writing, then thats fine. had been up to. When using the word grace for praying over a meal, does one capitalize the g? However, if you are addressing your dad directly, such as when . When quoting a conversation, simply think about whether that person is being directly addressed in the conversation. My query is what about the term everlasting gospel? Hi, Beau. Diane, The Bible teaches believers to anticipate heaven with hope and joy. The main thing is to make sure this is done consistently throughout the document. By James Taiwo. But we'd suggest only capitalizing such words if it serves a specific purpose, like with the "Word of God" referring to Logos rather than our everyday definition of "word.". As mentioned above, you should always capitalize the first letter in a proper noun. It can also be traced back to late Old English where it means "one who exercises parental care over another. Do you have a question about how to style a particular word or phrase? Lorraine wondered what her grandmother As you know, we capitalize the first letter in a proper noun as a general grammar rule. Hi again, Jodie. For example: Second Corinthians 1:1 says, . And yes, religious based capitalization is a HELLSCAPE all its own. Please advise. Followers of Jesus Christ think about Heaven, talk about it, and write about it as well. A utopian mental state, for example, isn't an actual place, so there is no place-name to capitalize. As with the word "father", when you capitalize the word daddy really depends on how you use the word. Your example comes under what is known as reverential capitalization, so whether you capitalize "the one" is a matter of personal preference, or, if you are following a style guide, it may be best to check what the preference is there. A character in my story is Padre McCaffery. "Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal [physical] body" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998 . Birds fly south in the winter. is intentional discipleship capitalized in a church newsletter article? Hi Lyn. In Old English it's traced back to the word fder which means "he who begets a child," the Supreme Being or the closest male relative. Sister Mary Eunice insisted she did not know the man. God is the most prominent example of something we only capitalize in certain cases. I am wondering about capitalization when referring to significant theological concepts or events. to learn more. 1 0 To my mind, they are proper nouns (i.e., they refer to a specific biblical convenant, which is a unique, singular thing). Special occasions the Olympic Games, the Cannes Film Festival Streets and roads Lowercase Reference List Here is a list of categories not capitalized unless an item contains a proper noun or proper adjective (or, sometimes, a trademark). "Father" should also be capitalized in a title and when referring to god. Some Christians capitalize Heaven to make a theological point to their readers that its a real place. Like godly wisdom, godly counsel, godly life. use standard capitalization for Samsung, but nonstandard for iPhone. Would you capitalize the word our when it is written with Our Savior? Unless you're using them as part of a title or proper noun, those words don't usually need to be capitalized. Holy Ghost - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Neil1 Oct-22-2009. Do not capitalize heaven, hell, the devil, satanic. For instance: Do I capitalize Heavenly Father? The word "father" can be traced back in its origin to several different places. Autocorrect changes only to capitalized when I type God sent His only Son. Should only be capitalized? I often refer to Spirit. If you'd like an expert to proofread it, though, we can certainly help with that (just leave a comment noting the issue with capitalization when you upload it): https://proofed.com/proofreading-services/. Please see his About page for details. Examples given include "Genesis; the book of Genesis" and "Job; the book of Job.". Some Bible translations capitalize pronouns referring to God, while others do not. Heres a tip: Want to make sure your writing shines? his, her, their). They believe its not a place, like Vancouver, British Columbia, or the Mediterranean Sea, but a utopian mental state. An easy way to remember this rule is to consider whether or not you can replace the word dad with an actual name. Why do some people insist on capitalizing Heaven? You don't even want to know what he calls pancakes. I would also like to subscribe to Christis: Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear()), Christy McGuire. The main question that comes up around capitalizing Christian terms is Should we Capitalize Pronouns Referring to God or Jesus? Hi, Scott. Perhaps if you were using it to refer to a piece of music used to honor the dead in a non-Christian context? Be sure to read the updated post here. Either is acceptable, as long as you are consistent. What about terms like "Passion" (referring to the passion of Christ leading up to his crucifixion), or "Ascension"? Author Randy Alcorn capitalizes Heaven to emphasize an important truth to his readers, Thus, if you're worried about the ambiguity of "sister" in parts of the story and it isn't clear which you mean from the context, it might make sense to capitalize "Sister" and "Sisters" when referring to nuns. Examples: The Holy Spirit comforts me; He brings peace into my life. This scripture may be found in the Book of John or Book of Psalms. One of the best resources is The Christian Writers Manual of Style by Robert Hudson (Zondervan, 2004). Are brand names, Christian terms, nicknames, or terms relating to racial or ethnic identity capitalized? What is the rule used when icapitalisating in such cases? When Should You Capitalize Dad, Mom, And Other Family Titles. Meeting the author of CWMS was like meeting a celebrity for us editors! Can I go to the mall once I finish my homework. When I write: This was super clear and very useful! The official profile of the word faith . Some traditions hold that grace and thanksgiving imparts a blessing which sanctifies the meal. ), Capitalize Adjectives That Are Part of Gods Name, Examples: Almighty God, Anointed One, Divine Savior, Good Shepherd, Great Physician, Heavenly Father, High Priest, Holy Father, Holy Spirit, Promised One, Sovereign Lord, Suffering Savior, Suffering Servant, Supreme Being, Wise Creator, Refer to the Holy Spirit as He, not It. Do not routinely use father or pastor before a name, but capitalize this description before a name in a quote. Hi! All Rights Reserved. This was back in bible times (or Bible times). For example: Titles are capitalized when referred to in full. At first glance, the rules of English capitalization seem simple. I've just translated a story (into English). I'm writing a book about earth-spirituality, the sacredness of Earth. If the passage is from the point of view of the character you mention (e.g., if it is narration from their POV or they're speaking and you want to show that they emphasize certain words), capitalizing "Heaven" and "Hell" for that character but not other characters might be a good way of setting them apart. Here are a few rules you'll want to make sure you remember: When you remember to follow these capitalization rules you can rest assured that you won't slight or improperly identify anyone who's in your common noun family. "Confirmation" is a common noun even in a religious context, so you would only usually capitalize it at the start of a sentence. Just make sure whatever you choose is used consistently. What Bible verses indicate that Heaven is a real place? If there is a style guide that, for example, your publisher has asked you to follow, then its best to check there first. But AP style tends to recommend capitalizing terms related to scripture, so this would likely mean capitalizing "Book" when referring to the Bible as well (e.g., "In the Book of Psalms"). My instinct is to capitalise it as one would for the Bible: Everlasting Gospel. In other words, capitalize words such as Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Son, Daughter, and Sis when they are used in place of the person's name. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You can also upload a document to get an instant quote. When a kinship name immediately precedes a personal name or is being used alone in the place of a personal name, you should capitalize it. Capitalization Rules: The Do's and Don'ts of Uppercase The simplest rule here is to make sure that you always capitalize a person's first and last names. Jesus also made clear in the Gospels that Heaven is an actual place as well. I thought that if you say the Scriptures, it will be capitalized, but what about "through the encouragement of scripture" is scripture capitalized in the latter case? So, it seems logical to accord Jesus the same courtesy as you would his heavenly father and capitalize Him, while Mohammed was just a man and his pronoun should remain uncapitalized. . Rule: When you use the complete . as the Word made flesh). For example: In that final example, capitalizing Son will be a subtle hint to readers that this character is the Jesus figure which is why its important not to capitalize son if its merely being used as a term of endearment. Learn how your comment data is processed. However, each publishing house will have its own style guide, as well. What if I am using the term "Christian" as an adjective, as in "John did it because of his Christian values?". Examples I was just about to clean my room, Mom. Leaving it uncapitalised when using it by itself looks like it would be confusing. Custom WordPress Website by Blogging Bistro, LLC, Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Disclaimer. Thanks! ?-- We note a change here also, the one highest gift of the "Holy Spirit" taking the place of the wider and less definite "good things" in Matthew 7:11.The variation is significant, as belonging to a later stage of our Lord's teaching, and especially as spoken probably to some of the Seventy, who were thus taught to ask boldly for the Spirit . I also review Christian novels at www.christianreads.blogspot.com.